Water (H2O) is chemical compound of hydrogen and oxygen. Earth's rivers, lakes, streams and oceans mainly consist on water as well as do liquids of different organisms. Other sources of water include its' non-liquid forms such as glaciers, snow, clouds, mist and aquifers. The distribution of water in organic and non-organic sources is described in table 1.[1]
Different water resources can be categorized in meaningful groups by their use such as blue water i.e. ground or surface water used in production of different goods and services; green water i.e. evapotranspiration, that consists of soil precipitation and plant transpiration and grey water, being all domestic polluted waters except those in contact with fecal matter. Grey water can be recycled and used e.g. in irrigation.
Water source
Water volume, in cubic miles
Water volume, in cubic kilometers
Percent of
Percent of
freshwater
total water
Oceans, Seas, & Bays
321,000,000
1,338,000,000
--
96.5
Ice caps, Glaciers, & Permanent Snow
5,773,000
24,064,000
68.7
1.74
Ground water:
5,614,000
23,400,000
--
1.69
Fresh
2,526,000
10,530,000
30.1
0.76
Saline
3,088,000
12,870,000
--
0.93
Soil Moisture
3,959
16,500
0.05
0.001
Ground Ice & Permafrost
71,970
300,000
0.86
0.022
Lakes:
42,320
176,400
--
0.013
Fresh
21,830
91,000
0.26
0.007
Saline
20,490
85,400
--
0.006
Atmosphere
3,095
12,900
0.04
0.001
Swamp Water
2,752
11,470
0.03
0.0008
Rivers
509
2,120
0.006
0.0002
Biological Water
269
1,120
0.003
0.0001
Connection to food
70 % of global freshwater is used in agriculture.[2] Unsustainable use of groundwater and non-renewable freshwater resources has been emergent in several areas worldwide, such as in California central valley, Aral Sea, Northwest India and Northeast Pakistan.[3] During the past 50 years the human water consumption has risen ~ 250% and the most noticeable change, rise in irrigation water consumption for growing food production, more than doubled during the same time.[4] By the end of the century it is projected that water consumption will increase even more, especially in areas such as Africa, Asia, Western USA, Mexico, and Central South America.[5] Unsustainable water consumption poses a risk to food system resilience,food security,agricultural productivity, fishing and to many more areas in relation to food production and consumption.
Water-Food-Energy Nexus
Irrigation and water management
Irrigation management is one way of trying to improve the situation. This means that at the moment the irrigation systems do not use the water in the most efficient way. Irrigation management works to develop and maintain the systems that are in place and to also expand the areas of irrigation. In this way it is possible to increase the amount of crops produced.
Water management is a method used in rainfed agriculture. This is the most common type of agriculture in developing countries. In this method the idea is to develop water harvesting techniques such as dams, weirs and rain catchment systems. These systems helps to insure that there is enough water when needed also in areas where the rainfall i inconsistent.[6]
Relation to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
The aim of the Sustainable Development Goal 6, clean water and sanitation, is to ensure the availability and management of sanitation and clean water for all. In the case of access to clean water the development has been good. Of the the global population 91 per cent has access to an improved drinking water source compared to 82 per cent in 2000. The improvement of sanitation facilities has not been as good. In 2015 there were still 2,4 billion people without access to adequate sanitation. Of these 946 million people did not have any facilities at all. The percentage of people with access to improved sanitation facilities has risen from 59 percent in 2000 to 68 in 2015.
The management of the water cycle means that the "water stress" level has to be taken into account. This means that the use of water has to be n balance with the total renewable fresh water resources.[7]
Corporate praxis
In textile industry, one water demanding area is dyeing. DyeCoo Textile Systems patented innovation doesn't use water in its process, instead it converts carbon dioxide into a liquid under an extreme pressure. After cooling, the liquid turns into gas form again and can be re-used. For example Nike uses the method in its newest plants in Taiwan and states that reduces the dyeing time, energy and required factory footprint along with the reductions in water use. [8][9]
Critique
Examples from Finland
Finnish chemical industry group Kemira provides solutions to water management in water intense areas such as pulp mills. One of the companys main segments is also water treatment. The vision of the company is to "be first in water intensive industries." Kemira employs almost 5 000 people worldwide and their products are sold in over 100 countries. Kemira seeks the transition towards circular economy with municipalities and industry in their water management, aiming to water reuse and efficiency of water treatment. In Europe and North America, the company is the leading supplier of chemicals for raw and waste water and sludge treatment.[10]
^ Allouche, J. (2011). The sustainability and resilience of global water and food systems: Political analysis of the interplay between security, resource scarcity, political systems and global trade. Food Policy, 36, S3-S8.
^ Wada, Y., & Bierkens, M. F. (2014). Sustainability of global water use: past reconstruction and future projections. Environmental Research Letters, 9(10), 104003.
Introduction
Water (H2O) is chemical compound of hydrogen and oxygen. Earth's rivers, lakes, streams and oceans mainly consist on water as well as do liquids of different organisms. Other sources of water include its' non-liquid forms such as glaciers, snow, clouds, mist and aquifers. The distribution of water in organic and non-organic sources is described in table 1.[1]
Different water resources can be categorized in meaningful groups by their use such as blue water i.e. ground or surface water used in production of different goods and services; green water i.e. evapotranspiration, that consists of soil precipitation and plant transpiration and grey water, being all domestic polluted waters except those in contact with fecal matter. Grey water can be recycled and used e.g. in irrigation.
Connection to food
70 % of global freshwater is used in agriculture.[2] Unsustainable use of groundwater and non-renewable freshwater resources has been emergent in several areas worldwide, such as in California central valley, Aral Sea, Northwest India and Northeast Pakistan.[3] During the past 50 years the human water consumption has risen ~ 250% and the most noticeable change, rise in irrigation water consumption for growing food production, more than doubled during the same time.[4] By the end of the century it is projected that water consumption will increase even more, especially in areas such as Africa, Asia, Western USA, Mexico, and Central South America.[5] Unsustainable water consumption poses a risk to food system resilience, food security, agricultural productivity, fishing and to many more areas in relation to food production and consumption.
Water-Food-Energy Nexus
Irrigation and water management
Irrigation management is one way of trying to improve the situation. This means that at the moment the irrigation systems do not use the water in the most efficient way. Irrigation management works to develop and maintain the systems that are in place and to also expand the areas of irrigation. In this way it is possible to increase the amount of crops produced.
Water management is a method used in rainfed agriculture. This is the most common type of agriculture in developing countries. In this method the idea is to develop water harvesting techniques such as dams, weirs and rain catchment systems. These systems helps to insure that there is enough water when needed also in areas where the rainfall i inconsistent.[6]
Relation to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
The aim of the Sustainable Development Goal 6, clean water and sanitation, is to ensure the availability and management of sanitation and clean water for all. In the case of access to clean water the development has been good. Of the the global population 91 per cent has access to an improved drinking water source compared to 82 per cent in 2000. The improvement of sanitation facilities has not been as good. In 2015 there were still 2,4 billion people without access to adequate sanitation. Of these 946 million people did not have any facilities at all. The percentage of people with access to improved sanitation facilities has risen from 59 percent in 2000 to 68 in 2015.
The management of the water cycle means that the "water stress" level has to be taken into account. This means that the use of water has to be n balance with the total renewable fresh water resources.[7]
Corporate praxis
In textile industry, one water demanding area is dyeing. DyeCoo Textile Systems patented innovation doesn't use water in its process, instead it converts carbon dioxide into a liquid under an extreme pressure. After cooling, the liquid turns into gas form again and can be re-used. For example Nike uses the method in its newest plants in Taiwan and states that reduces the dyeing time, energy and required factory footprint along with the reductions in water use. [8][9]
Critique
Examples from Finland
Finnish chemical industry group Kemira provides solutions to water management in water intense areas such as pulp mills. One of the companys main segments is also water treatment. The vision of the company is to "be first in water intensive industries." Kemira employs almost 5 000 people worldwide and their products are sold in over 100 countries. Kemira seeks the transition towards circular economy with municipalities and industry in their water management, aiming to water reuse and efficiency of water treatment. In Europe and North America, the company is the leading supplier of chemicals for raw and waste water and sludge treatment.[10]
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https://thewaterproject.org/water-scarcity/water-scarcity-and-agriculture
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg6